Amazon’s ‘Artificial Artificial Intelligence’ Is Being Eaten by AI

Source Domain: gizmodo.com

Origin of Mechanical Turk: In the late 18th century, Wolfgang von Kempelen created a hoax mechanical chess player dubbed the “mechanical Turk,” which actually concealed a human chess master controlling the machine.
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: Launched in 2005 by Amazon, Mechanical Turk (MTurk) was a platform that paid gig workers to perform tasks humans can do but machines couldn’t automate, like audio transcription and image analysis.
Shift from Human Labor to AI: Initially popular, MTurk has seen its relevance diminish as actual AI becomes efficient and cheaper at completing the tasks it once relied on human labor for.
Amazon’s Plans for MTurk: Amazon announced that it will no longer accept new users starting July 30, 2026, signaling a phase-out of the platform due to AI advancements that can now handle its tasks more efficiently.
Impact on Users and Researchers: Current users and academic researchers who relied on MTurk, now face uncertainty as the number of tasks on the platform likely will decrease. The platform’s closure has elicited mixed feelings from early users nostalgic for its founding role in gig work.

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